Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Besancon and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,278 a month against $1,754 in Besancon, rent and utilities included – about $5,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

85

Cost of Living Index in Besancon
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Besancon Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Besancon

🇫🇷 France

$1,754

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Besancon and in Phuket

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Besancon and in Phuket actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,754 in Besancon versus $1,278 in Phuket.

Besancon $1,754
Phuket $1,278

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,541 in Besancon versus $2,216 in Phuket.

Besancon $2,541
Phuket $2,216

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,328 in Besancon versus $3,154 in Phuket.

Besancon $3,328
Phuket $3,154

Living in Besancon is roughly 37% more expensive than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Besancon is 29% above, Phuket is 6% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.79 €15.04

$4.47 ฿151

275.62%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$54.9 €49.15

$32.41 ฿1,094

69.24%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.06 €9.91

$8.81 ฿297

25.54%

Cappuccino

$3.00 €2.69

$2.83 ฿95.4

6.01%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.32 €2.08

$0.87 ฿29.42

166.67%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.58 €1.41

$0.49 ฿16.66

222.45%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.60 €5.92

$2.56 ฿86.3

157.81%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.72 €5.13

$3.68 ฿124

55.43%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.27 €1.14

$1.66 ฿56.0

-23.49%

White Bread (500g)

$1.64 €1.47

$1.46 ฿49.32

12.33%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.14 €1.91

$1.50 ฿50.5

42.67%

Eggs

$4.54 €4.07

$2.09 ฿70.5

117.22%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$20.49 €18.36

$19.07 ฿643

7.45%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.11 €9.96

$3.30 ฿111

236.67%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$18.32 €16.42

$10.91 ฿368

67.92%

Apples (1kg)

$2.67 €2.39

$2.93 ฿98.9

-8.87%

Banana (1kg)

$2.19 €1.96

$1.69 ฿57.0

29.59%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.84 €2.55

$2.25 ฿75.8

26.22%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.48 €2.22

$2.08 ฿70.1

19.23%

Potato (1kg)

$2.44 €2.18

$1.51 ฿51.0

61.59%

Onion (1kg)

$2.42 €2.17

$1.38 ฿46.54

75.36%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.38 €1.23

$1.07 ฿35.97

28.97%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.12 €1.00

$0.52 ฿17.51

115.38%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$14.18 €12.71

$4.20 ฿142

237.62%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.47 €8.49

$18.79 ฿634

-49.60%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$4.76 €4.27

$1.82 ฿61.5

161.54%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.25 €2.91

$2.84 ฿95.9

14.44%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.75 €1.57

$1.45 ฿49.00

20.69%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$43.76 €39.21

$56.7 ฿1,912

-22.77%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.12 €2.79

$3.02 ฿102

3.31%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.09 €1.87

$1.02 ฿34.34

104.90%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$30.39 €27.23

$3.69 ฿125

723.58%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.08 €1.87

$1.47 ฿49.78

41.50%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$35.3K €31.6K

$26.8K ฿903.7K

31.77%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$38.5K €34.5K

$26.7K ฿900.8K

44.21%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$228 €204

$96.4 ฿3,252

136.35%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$14.33 €12.84

$11.26 ฿380

27.26%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.37 €30.80

$16.85 ฿569

103.98%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$26.49 €23.74

$67.2 ฿2,269

-60.60%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.74 €17.69

$10.73 ฿362

83.97%

Cinema Ticket

$10.97 €9.83

$7.50 ฿253

46.27%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$333 €298

$476 ฿16.1K

-30.13%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,365 €6,600

$11.3K ฿380.1K

-34.61%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$96.6 €86.5

$62.4 ฿2,105

54.86%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.88 €34.84

$28.41 ฿959

36.85%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$93.0 €83.3

$94.3 ฿3,182

-1.38%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$123 €110

$85.8 ฿2,896

43.21%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$658 €590

$716 ฿24.2K

-8.02%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$585 €524

$491 ฿16.6K

19.17%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$982 €880

$1,927 ฿65.0K

-49.03%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$807 €723

$1,431 ฿48.3K

-43.56%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,858 €2,561

$4,175 ฿140.9K

-31.56%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,234 €2,002

$3,045 ฿102.8K

-26.63%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,139 €1,917

$502 ฿17.0K

325.82%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.62

5.57

-35.01%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Besancon: October 25, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Besancon

$585 33.4%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 16.1% $94

Groceries & Markets

Besancon

$358 20.4%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 25.7% $92

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Besancon

$276 15.8%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 55% $152

Eating Out

Besancon

$264 15%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 53.8% $142

Clothing & Footwear

Besancon

$158 9%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 22.9% $36

Getting Around

Besancon

$64 3.7%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 9.7% $6.3

Sport & Entertainment

Besancon

$48 2.8%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 69.8% $34

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $658 in Besancon and $716 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Besancon pays about 4.3 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $55 in Besancon vs $32 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $358 vs $266 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇫🇷 Besancon

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

12:08 12:08 PM

18:08 6:08 PM

6 h ahead of Besancon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

119,198

79,308

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

Lowest

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Between locations

Besancon Phuket 9,540 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Besancon
Phuket

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Besancon vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket wins on cost – living expenses run 27% lower than in Besancon. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Phuket the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay in Besancon is about 4.3 times higher, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $658 in Besancon versus $716 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Besancon runs roughly 23% less than in Phuket. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $333 in Besancon versus $476 in Phuket. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,278 in Phuket versus $1,754 in Besancon, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Besancon. The gap between the two cities makes Phuket the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Safety-wise, Besancon and Phuket are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

It comes down to priorities – Phuket wins on affordability, Besancon on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.